Age of Apocalypse: The Untold Story
by Cian'Perrel
Summary: This story takes place during the Age of Apocalypse, about 5 years before the final conflict, and introduces Psylocke; who seems to have been ignored in the original storyline.
1. The Breeding Pens

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-men or any other Marvel characters.

A/N: This story takes place during the Age of Apocalypse storyline, about 5 years before the final conflict. Now, I know that the Age of Apocalypse took place back in '95-'96, but I've been working on this story, on and off, for almost ten years now; I had actually thought it lost for about five years until discovering it in on old note book recently. I decided to finish it off, and post it here. I hope you enjoy it, and that it brings back memories of one of the most interesting times in X-Men comic book history (at least, I think it was), or that it inspires those of you who have never read the original Age of Apocalypse comics to go out and do so. I apologize, in advance, that some of the chapters will be relatively short; they are used for character introduction, and/or plot fillers.

Part.1. (The Breeding Pens)

His name is Scott Summers, but most people know him as Prelate Summers, or Cyclops; commander of the Elite Mutant Force, Sinister's Lieutenant, and master of Apocalypse's Breeding Pens. His enemies and peers both respect and fear him. He is the only person on the planet, other than the Four Horsemen, to have Apocalypse's ear. He is a mutant that possesses the power to create powerful beams of concussive force from his eyes; and he is a deeply conflicted man.

He was raised by Sinister to believe that he was superior to humans and mutants alike. He was given every benefit of being someone of the upper caste. Yet, he has never felt superior to any of them, and has chafed at his life of luxury. Two years ago, after having been given command of the Breeding Pens, he encountered a prisoner, a young human woman, named Val Cooper. After a lengthy discussion with her, he made a decision that would change his life forever; he freed her. Since then, he has freed dozens, if not hundreds, of prisoners, and handed them over to Val or her people from the Human High Council.

Tonight, he plans to free a couple of prisoners that are scheduled for execution tomorrow, and deliver them to Val. Ten minutes ago, he had called Prelate Raymond Crisp into his office, and told him to patrol the West Wing because Prelate Samuel Guthrie, who was supposed to be patrolling it, would be patrolling the East Wing to cover for his brother Prelate Alex Summers; what he didn't do, however, was tell Sam that he was supposed to be covering for Alex. This left the East Wing, completely free of any guards, and he knew of ways to bypass the cameras. He sneaks into the Breeding Pens through a false wall that he knows of, built by Sinister as an escape route, and activates his holo-emitter, something of his own design, which makes him look like Magneto. He makes his way down the hall and to the cell that he had put both prisoners in earlier today. The two prisoners gasp at the sight of him, and one says, "Magneto?"

Scott activates a button to open the door, and, for dramatic effect, reaches out with his hand. "Come, my children, we must get you to safety." he says in a passable Magneto impersonation. The two prisoners, walk forward, and follow him back down the hall to the secret passage. From there he leads them out to the river, where Val Cooper is waiting with a boat, to take the prisoners to a waiting submarine. Once the prisoners are on the boat, he turns off the holo-emitter and says to Val, "I'm sorry I couldn't get more this time, but I've had to step up safety procedures in the Pens, and I can't afford to get caught."

"I understand." She says.

Before anyone can say anything else, Scott hears a voice in his headset. He listens closely and hears Sam say, "…calling Prelate Summers."

He looks up at Val and says, "I've got to go, it seems like they may have found out about the escape already."

He turns away from her and starts walking back to the Pens, "What do you want, Guthrie? I said that I'm not to be disturbed tonight!" he demands, trying to put as much spite as he can into his voice.


	2. The Spy

Part.2. (The Spy)

Her name is Elisabeth Braddock, Betsy for short; her code name is Psylocke. She is a mutant, a telepath; one of the few not under Apocalypse's control. She works for the Human High Council as a deep cover agent; which is what led to her getting captured two years earlier and having her consciousness swapped into the body of an Asian ninja by Henry McCoy, better known as Beast. How she escaped and made it back to England, she can't really remember, but Val Cooper, who escaped with her, claims that Magneto himself had freed them.

Here she is, again, back in the United States, on a mission to free the prisoners from the Breeding Pens. She has spent the last two months scoping out the Pens, and has finally decided to make her move tonight. Sneaking in hadn't been a problem, but freeing the prisoners would be hard. She was going to need to make her way to the control room, use the automated defenses to eliminate the guards, and then open all the cells, before leading everyone out and to the waiting boats she had hidden down river. From there they would rendezvous with a waiting submarine just off the coast.

She is currently wedged, in the shadows, next to the ceiling, in the corner of a hall that would lead her to the control room. She had been expecting the guard to patrol past here five minutes ago, but he still hadn't come. She is starting to wonder if something has gone wrong, and maybe she should abandon the plan for tonight, and come back another night, when she hears footsteps. As she listens closely, she realizes that she can actually hear two sets of footsteps, coming from either hallway. They converge right under her and start to argue. She is too focused on maintaining her balance, that she doesn't pay any attention to their conversation. She shifts her leg slightly, hoping that the movement goes unnoticed; she isn't that lucky.


	3. The Capture

Part.3. (The Capture)

Their names are Samuel 'Sam' Guthrie, and Raymond 'Ray' Crisp; but they are also known as Cannonball and Berzerker. They are both Prelates of the Elite Mutant Force, and are currently assigned to the Breeding Pens. Sam is a mutant with the powers of flight, while Ray has the power to fire electrical blasts.

"What are you doing here, Sam?" asks the larger of the two men.

"Me? What are you doing here, Ray?" the smaller one asks.

"Summers told me to patrol the West Wing tonight."

"You must have heard wrong; I'm scheduled to patrol the West Wing tonight."

"I'm telling you, he called me into his office, not fifteen minutes ago, and said you were gonna cover for Alex in the East Wing tonight."

"What?" Sam yells, "No one told me anything about covering for Alex."

"Maybe we should call Summers, and get this straightened out?"

"You think?" Sam says as he reaches for his headset.

Suddenly, Ray fires a blast into the corner; surprising Sam. A woman drops to the ground, stunned. Sam runs over to her, reaching for an inhibitor collar on his belt. He pulls her up by her hair, and slaps the collar on her. "Well, well, well, what have we here?" Ray asks.

"Looks like a spy." Sam says, "Hey, you think that this might be the person what's been freeing the prisoners?"

"Maybe; we'll be rewarded for stopping her."

"Hey you; what's your name?" Sam asks her. She turns around and spits in his face. "Bitch!" he yells as he backhands her across the face. He puts enough force behind it to throw her across the hall and into the opposite wall. "Filthy rebel. I should kill you right now."

Ray puts a hand on his shoulder to stop him, "Watch it Sam, remember what Summers did to Arclight last month? He'll kill you himself; besides, I think I heard a couple of her ribs crack when she hit the wall."

Sam looks down at her, crumpled up at the base of the wall holding her sides, and then he reaches for his headset and says, "Prelate Guthrie, calling Prelate Summers."

After a couple of minutes he hears, "What is it, Guthrie? I said that I'm not to be disturbed tonight!" Sam winces at the venom in Scott's voice.

"Ah, sir, Ray and I just captured an intruder in the West Wing. We think it may be the person what's been freeing the prisoners, sir."

"Really? Well while you and Crisp have been patrolling the same wing, someone else just freed the two prisoners that were scheduled for execution tomorrow."

"Uh, sir, about that..."

"Shut-up, Guthrie! Bring the prisoner and meet me in McCoy's lab. Send Crisp over to the East Wing. Later we'll discuss why someone wasn't patrolling it tonight."

"Yes, sir."

"Oh, and Guthrie; that prisoner had better be able to answer my questions, or I'll have you and Crisp on pen cleaning duty for the rest of your lives; which won't be very long." He hears Scott cut the connection, and looks over at Ray to see the same frightened look on his face. Better to upset Apocalypse then Scott Summers; Apocalypse will only kill you; Scott Summers will make your life hell first.


	4. The Laboratory

Part.4. (The Laboratory)

His name is Henry McCoy; but everyone usually just calls him Beast. He is a mutant with superior agility and strength. He is also a certified genius and head of Apocalypse's science division; although most people think of him as a mad-scientist.

Scott slams the doors to the 'lab' open and yells, "Stop what you're doing, McCoy! I told Guthrie to meet me here with the prisoner because it was the closest location to me, not so that you could conduct your experiments on him!"

Henry steps back from the rack where the prisoner is strapped too and says, "Her, dear Scott; the prisoner is female."

"I don't care if the prisoner is a dog! I've warned you about conducting unauthorized experiments!"

"Yes, yes, yes, you have, on several occasions; but I couldn't help myself when I saw her. I recognize her as one of my failed experiments, and I wanted to see if anything has changed since I last saw her."

"Once again, I don't care." he turns to Sam and says, "Guthrie, get back to the West Wing, now. And I want your report of what happened on my desk by noon tomorrow; is that understood?"

"Yes, sir." Sam replies.

Sam is almost out the door when Scott says, "And tell Crisp that I want his report right next to yours." Turning back to Henry he says, "Have you done a medical scan of her yet?"

"A quick one, yes."

"And?"

"Well besides the usual cuts and bruises that you see, she has a couple of nasty bumps on her head, which I believe may have caused a concussion. She also has a broken Ulna and two fractured ribs."

"Ulna? McCoy, why can't you just speak in layman's terms?"

"Pardon me, ole chum; she has a broken bone in her left forearm."

Scott walks up to the rack and faces Henry. "And you have, of course, set her arm, wrapped up her ribs, and given her a painkiller, right?"

Henry looks at him like he's grown a second head. "Why would I do that? She is a prisoner, a rebel spy; who cares if she heals?"

"I care if she heals, McCoy. We don't know if she's a rebel or if she's something else. I have questions that need answering, and a healthy prisoner gives me more options for extracting the answers I need." Before Henry can say anything, Scott turns to the prisoner and says, "You said you recognized her as one of your failed experiments. Show me all the files you have on her."

Henry leads him over to his computer, and after several minutes, pulls them up. "Here you are fearless leader."

Scott pulls out his personal data terminal and hooks it up to Henry's computer. He then downloads the files, before unplugging it. "Is this the only copy of the files?" he asks.

"Besides the one you just made, yes." Henry answers, a little apprehensively.

"Good." Scott says as he deletes the files from Henry's computer. "Now here's what you're going to do. You're going to give her a pain killer and a sedative, then set her arm, and wrap her ribs. Once that is done, you'll strap her to a hover sled, and forget you ever saw her. I'll be taking her to my 'offices' for questioning. Is that understood, McCoy?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. I'll be sitting over there reading a file that doesn't exist, about a person who was never here." Scott says before walking over to a chair, and sitting down.

Henry turns his back to Scott, growls, and goes about his work.


	5. The Proposition

Part.5. (The Proposition)

Betsy awakens on a bed in a darkened room. She tries to sit up, but a sudden pain in her left side causes her to grunt in pain and fall back against her pillow. Almost immediately, a man appears at her left side. "Relax, you have two fractured ribs; don't try to sit up, I'll adjust the bed for you." As he gets to work adjusting the bed into a sitting position, she takes the time to examine her surroundings. The room isn't entirely dark; a light in the far corner provides enough illumination to make out some details. The room reminds her of a hospital room; but she can't see how she would be in one, since her last memory was of being in the Beast's lab.

Suddenly, she recognizes the man standing next to her from the lab. She tries to raise her left arm to strike him, but he places his hand on it and says, "Please, your arm is broken. You are in no danger here."

"You're Prelate Summers, of the EMF; Apocalypse's lapdog." She sees him wince at the comment, but she continues, "How can I possibly be safe?"

"Because I give you my word that no harm shall come to you; I could have left you with the Beast."

"What do you want with me?"

"Answers; but for now, I want you to relax until my guest arrives." At that very moment there is a knock on the door. "Speak of the devil." Scott walks over to the door and opens it; in walks an old man with a long beard and tattered robes. They both approach the bed, and Scott says, "She has a broken bone in her left forearm, two fractured ribs, a split lip, and a possible concussion."

"Who's he?" she asks.

"This is Healer." Scott replies. "He's a mutant with the power to heal people. I called him here to heal you."

"Why? I'm a prisoner."

"Well, partly because I feel horrible that my subordinates caused you these injuries, and partly as a show of good faith."

Healer reaches down and places both hands on her left forearm. Betsy feels her arm getting warm and can see his hands glowing. After several minutes, the glowing stops, and he removes his hands. "How does it feel?" Scott asks.

Betsy lifts her arm and flexes it. "Good." she looks at Healer and says, "Thank you."

"Now for your ribs." Scott says, moving forward to help her lift her arm up so that Healer can place both hands on her side.

Several minutes later, Betsy tests her side. "Thank you, again."

"Can you heal a concussion?" Scott asks Healer.

He replies by moving towards the head of the bed and placing both hands on Betsy's head. Several minutes later, he removes his hands and walks out of the room.

"Humph; he even fixed your split lip." Scott says.

"I would thank you for having him heal me, but I'm still not sure as to your intentions. Who is Healer? Why is someone like that working for Apocalypse?"

"Healer is a member of my personal staff; actually, he's the only member of my personal staff. I found him on a raid in Manhattan one day, and managed to hide him from everyone else." He pulls up a chair and sits down next to the bed. "Now it's my turn to get some answers. I've read the files the Beast had on you and then I looked up anything in my database; so I already know most of the answers, I just want to see how honest you'll be."

"Why should I tell you anything?"

"I had hoped that having Healer patch you up would have been enough to show you that I mean you no harm; but I guess I can do this." He pulls out a set of keys and reaches for her neck.

She pulls back and asks, "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to remove the inhibitor collar, freeing up your telepathic powers. Scan my mind and see if I speak the truth." He uses the key and removes the collar.

Immediately, she feels her powers return. She thinks about using her powers to incapacitate him and escape, but decides to scan his mind instead.

"Satisfied with what you see?" he asks.

She stops scanning and says, "You have impressive psychic shields; but I didn't sense any malice."

"Your name is Elisabeth Braddock, a.k.a. Psylocke." He doesn't so much as ask as makes a statement.

"Betsy." She says.

"I'm sorry?"

"I prefer Betsy; it's what everyone calls me."

"Ok then, Betsy. You work for the Human High Council."

"Yes."

"You were captured two years ago and had your consciousness swapped from your original body into this one."

"Yes."

"You escaped and made your way back to England."

"Yes."

"How did you escape?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"My mind was still in shock from the transfer, so I don't remember anything." Scott stands there for a minute with a strange look on his face. "However, there was another escapee that night, and she told me some of what happened."

"Go on."

"She said that Magneto himself freed us." She's not sure why she's telling him this, but for some strange reason, she feels that she can trust him with this information.

She thinks she sees a smile on his face before he says, "Magneto himself, in my Pens; interesting." She is about to say something, when he continues, "So then, you're not the person who's been freeing prisoners for the last two years?"

"No. I was only inserted back into the States two months ago."

He leans forward and whispers, "I'm about to shield this room from observation, including psychic; so, I apologize in advance if this hurts."

She just manages to put up psychic defenses, but still feels a wave wash over her mind as he activates his shield. "What did you do that for?" She asks.

"Because I don't want anyone hearing the next few minutes of this conversation." He leans back, and crosses his arms over his chest. "What were you doing in the Pens tonight?" When she doesn't answer, he asks, "Were you there to free someone specific? Were you there to assassinate someone?"

"I was supposed to take down the Pens, and free everyone."

"So, you don't work with Val Cooper's team then?"

"No, I work for a separate division." She suddenly registers what he just said, "Hey, wait a minute; how do you know about Val Cooper's team?"

He sits there in silence, looking at her, for a few minutes before saying, "Before I answer that, I want you to answer one more question; will you come work for me?"

"What?"

"I thought it a simple enough question; will you come work for me?"

"I will never work for Apocalypse."

"Not Apocalypse; me. I want you to be my personal bodyguard and assistant. You would report directly to me, and only me."

"I work for you, you work for Apocalypse; it's just like as if I'd be working for him."

"Not really. Apocalypse rarely deems it necessary to involve himself in anything that I deal with; in fact, other than the occasional meetings with Sinister, I have no interaction with him."

"I don't know."

"Let me tell you the only two options that you have available right now. Accept my offer, I can use someone like you, and I will give you a life like no one else can ever offer you. Refuse it, and I have no choice but to put you into the pens." She is about to say something, but he holds his hand up to stop her, and continues, "I have no desire to put you into the pens, but the Beast, Guthrie and Crisp have all seen you, and know that I have taken you away. If I don't show up with you as my bodyguard, or as a prisoner; I might as well sign my own death warrant. I would like to be able to release you to a member of the Human High Council, but I can't."

"I see what you are saying, and I understand; however, if I show up as your bodyguard, won't people wonder. They saw me as a prisoner, how can they think that I am otherwise."

He stands up and says, "Simple; I'll tell them that you were hired by me to test out the security of the pens. Guthrie and Crisp are too scared of me to not believe me, and Beast is too smart to question me." He looks at her one last time, and turns to leave. "Agree, and you will get the chance to continue saving lives; refuse, and, well…"

Betsy stares at him with a stunned look on her face. "Alright." She finally says. "I'll work for you. I'll be your bodyguard and assistant; but, I'm going to need some questions answered."

"All in due time, Betsy; all in due time."


	6. The House

Part.6. (The House)

Betsy had wanted to continue their conversation, but Scott knew that even though she had been healed, she still needed rest. So instead he had given her a quick tour of his offices, which also doubled as his living quarters.

"The shower is in there." He says, pointing towards a door between his chambers and the room he said is hers now. "Wash up; I'll find you something to wear for now. After you get some rest, we'll find you some real clothes."

She smiles to herself as she walks towards the washroom, finding it humorous how he switches persona's in a flash, without so much as a change in voice; one minute he seems like a normal, caring guy, and the next he's a take charge, leader.

The moment the door closes behind her, Scott activates his com-link and calls Angel. His personal assistant, Karma, answers, "Hello, Prelate Summers, what can I do for you?"

"Hello, Karma, I was hoping to ask Warren for a favor, actually."

"Don't worry; your brother is being taken care of. Angel has already promised you that he will never let anything happen to him when he's here."

"Tell Warren that I appreciate it, but this is about something else entirely."

"Well, Angel is a little preoccupied at the moment, is there anything that I can do for you?"

Scott thinks for a minute and then replies, "Tell me Karma, what size do you wear?"


	7. The Wardrobe

Part.7. (The Wardrobe)

Betsy gasps as she open the lights in the washroom and sees just how big it is. She realizes that she had been living in a little run down room for the last two months that is smaller than this room. Even back in England, such luxury is hard to find. She starts to wonder just how powerful Scott is, and why would he risk everything by not putting her in the pens.

She walks over to the mirror, and looks at her face, seeing the blood and dirt that coats it. She quickly removes her clothes and throws them into the corner, before returning to the mirror to examine herself. Satisfied that she has no open wounds, or scars, she walks over to the shower and steps in; she realizes that the shower alone could fit eight people standing up, comfortably. She turns on the water, and stands there, enjoying the feeling of hot water pouring over her body. She can't believe how much dirt and blood she is covered in, but then remembers that living in hiding for two months doesn't give one many opportunities to bathe properly. She spends a little extra time washing her long purple hair, which had gotten so knotted and dirty that, she had felt that she would have to cut it off eventually.

When she is done, she grabs a towel and dries off, before wrapping it around her and stepping back into the living room; she sees Scott across the room talking to a young Asian woman. When he sees her, he waves her over, and says, "Betsy, this is Karma, Angel's personal assistant." He turns to Karma and says, "And this is Betsy, my new personal assistant." Betsy notes that he didn't mention that she was to be his bodyguard as well, and is sure that Karma, dressed in body armor, was Angel's bodyguard as well as his assistant.

The two women shake hands, and Scott continues, "Karma here was nice enough to bring over some clothing for you; I have placed them in your room. I was unsure as to your size, so Karma only brought over a few things, but has agreed to meet us tomorrow so that we can get you a proper wardrobe."

"Yes, Prelate Summers has asked that you be given only the best money can buy, and that price is no option." Karma says. Scott clears his throat, causing Karma to say, "Sorry."

"Thank you, Karma, and tell Warren that I appreciate all his help. I'll contact you later for that meeting."

"Not a problem, Prelate Summers. Angel is always happy to help you." She bows quickly to both of them, and shows herself out.

Scott turns back to Betsy and says, "I think that we should both get some rest, it is, after all, almost morning. I will see you later; sleep well." He walks past her, and into his room.

She watches him go, feeling somewhat disturbed by his seeming non-reaction to her current state of undress. She believes she is an attractive woman, and has been able to use her body, in the past, to seduce men; but Scott seemed to not even notice that the towel barely covered her body.

She walks over to her room, and steps in. The light is still on and she sees the clothes that Karma had brought over for her. "He calls this 'a few things'?" she says out loud. "I've never even had this much selection back home." She walks over to the closet and rifles through all the clothes; evening gowns, normal dresses, casual pants and tops, and, of course, body armor. She looks over at the dresser and sees that the drawers are partially open. She walks over and sees that there is a selection of undergarments, and sleepwear.

She suddenly realizes that she is rather tired, so she grabs one of the nighties, pulls it on, closes the light, and heads to bed.

* * *

><p>She wakes up several hours later, and changes into a fighting suit. She heads into the living room and notices the smell of food coming from the kitchen. She walks in to find Scott at the stove, cooking bacon and eggs. "Good morning; sleep well?" he asks.<p>

"Yes, thank you; yourself?"

She notices a slight hesitation before he answers, "Yes." He hands her a plate with bacon and eggs, as well as some toast. "Here you go."

"Thank you." She says as she sits down at the table. He brings her a glass of orange juice and a cup of tea. "Thank you again." She looks down at her food and can't believe that he can actually manage to get this stuff. "I didn't think any of this stuff could be found in the States anymore."

He sits down opposite her with his own plate and a cup of coffee. "It can't, but with the right connections, almost anything is possible to get here." The two of them eat in silence, and then Scott takes the plates and puts them in the sink. "I contacted Karma, and she is going to meet us at Warren's warehouse."

"That won't be necessary; the clothes that she brought earlier will suffice."

"Nonsense; we'll head on over and get you fitted properly, then we'll get you a proper wardrobe."

Realizing, by the commanding tone in his voice, that it will be pointless to argue; so she follows him out and towards the garage. She hadn't been in here yet, only knowing what it was because Scott had told her during the tour. She is surprised to see the size of it, and that it holds no less than five vehicles. She once again accesses Scott's place in Apocalypse's organization.

Scott walks over to a hover-cycle and hops on. "Jump on." He says. Betsy walks over and climbs up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Hold on tight." He says, as he presses a button to open the garage door, and launches them out. She pulls herself closer to him, pressing herself to his back, as she realizes that he is a speed-junkie; he is driving faster than anyone really needs to be, and she can feel his heart pumping rapidly.

Within minutes they arrive at a very large building that is heavily guarded. A guard waves them through, and Scott brings the cycle to a halt right before the door. Karma is standing outside, waiting for them. "Good morning, Prelate Summers, Betsy."

"Good morning Karma." Scott says. "Will Warren be joining us today? I had hoped to talk with him."

"Yes, Angel, will join us soon, he is just finishing up with another customer." She says. "This way please." She leads them into the building, and Betsy can see that it is an enormous warehouse. "We might as well head over to the tailoring section and get you fitted, Betsy." They head over to the far corner, where they see a group of people busy making clothing.

"You make all the clothing yourselves?" Betsy asks.

"Most of it, yes. Angel expects the best, so he gets the best to make it for him." Karma waves over an older woman. "Susan, this is Betsy; she needs a fitting."

"Yes, Madame." Susan replies. She waves Betsy over to a room, and closes the door behind them. "Please remove your clothes."

"What?"

"Please remove your clothes; it will make the fitting more accurate."

"Okay." Betsy says as she removes her fighting suit.

Susan pulls out a tape-measure and starts taking measurements, while writing them on a piece of paper she has attached to her sleeve. When she is done, she says, "That will be all for now. You can get dressed and wait outside."

Betsy gets dressed and heads out to find Scott talking with Angel. She has already met him before, during her various works for the Human High Council, but decides it best to play like they've never met. "Ah, this must be her, then." Angel says, as he walks over to Betsy. He reaches out, and takes her hand, then leans in to kiss it, and whispers, "What are you doing with him?"

"I'm fine; he saved my life." she whispers back.

"I am Angel, but you may call me Warren, beautiful."

"And my name is Betsy; not beautiful."

Angel turns back to the others and says, "Oh, she's got an attitude; I like this one, Scott. Alright, Shan, why don't you take Susan and Betsy and start collecting a wardrobe; Scott and I have some business to discuss."

Betsy watches as Scott and Angel head into the office behind the tailors. Karma motions for her to follow and asks, "So any color preferrance?"

"Purple." Betsy replies, as she heads into the warehouse with the two women.

Angel closes the door behind Scott and says, "What do you need, Scott?"

"I need to talk to you about my new assistant."

"She is very pretty, but I don't think you're her type."

"Cut the bullshit, Warren. I know who she is and who she worked for."

"Worked? Are you sure she still doesn't?"

"If there's one thing you know about me, Warren, it's that I am a good judge of people."

"Except when it comes to your brother." Warren mumbles under his breath as he walks over to his desk.

"What did you say?" Scott asks.

"Nothing, I was talking to myself. Are you sure you can trust her?"

"Yes."

"That's it? Yes?"

"I 'interviewed' her last night, and even gave her the chance to use her powers against me. She answered each question honestly, and, seeing as I'm still standing, she didn't attack me."

"So if you trust her, what do you need to talk about?"

"I need you to get a message to her people, and tell them that she failed at her assignment, but that she is alright and safe; and, of course, there will be no need to mention my name in any of this."

"Alright, I can do that. But, Scott, do you think it's a good idea to keep her around?"

Scott runs his hands through his long hair, and sighs. "I had no choice, Warren. She was captured by Guthrie and Crisp, and McCoy recognized her as one of his old experiments; also, two prisoners escaped at the same time. It was this, or send her to the Pens, and how long do you think it would have taken McCoy to get his hands on her."

"Drink?" Warren offers.

"No thank you."

"So what now?"

"Business as usual, only I now have someone to watch my back."

* * *

><p>Betsy has been following Karma and Susan for an hour now, as they select various pieces of clothing and handing them to a robotic servant. "Are we done, yet?" Betsy asks for the third time.<p>

"I'm afraid not; Prelate Summers left specific instructions as to what he wants." Karma replies.

"How many different outfits am I going to need?"

Karma laughs, "Oh Betsy, you have no idea the kind of man you're working for now. Did you think that he was simply a prisoner guard, or something?"

"I know he's more than a mere prison guard."

"Yes, well, Prelate Summers has many responsibilities, and he has to attend many different functions. As his assistant, you will be expected to attend these functions with him, and be dressed appropriately; appearances mean a lot here."

"Well if he left specific instructions, then why do I need to be here?"

"You don't _need_ to be here; Angel just needed some time alone with Prelate Summers. I suspect they'll be finished their meeting by now; let me check." She reaches for her com-link and whispers into it. A minute later she turns back to Betsy and says, "Angel has asked that I escort you back. Susan and I will finish this and have everything delivered by tonight; follow me, please."

Several hours later, after lunch with Angel, and a lengthy discussion with Scott about her exact duties, true to her word, Karma delivers the wardrobe that Scott had bought her. She watches as her closet and dresser are filled to capacity.

As she sits at the table, and Scott serves her dinner, she says, "Thank you; for everything."

"There is no need to thank me." He replies as he sits down opposite her.

She decides to try something and reaches out to place her left hand on top of his right hand. She gently runs her fingers over the back of his hand and says, "You may not think there is a need for it, but I really appreciate everything you've done for me."

She sees him looking at her hand on top of his, before he pulls his hand away. He lifts his head, but is unable to make eye contact with her. "It's nothing, really." He says quietly, but in a hurried voice. They eat dinner in an awkward silence.

Once dinner is over, Scott tells her to get some rest, as tomorrow her job begins.


	8. The Sibling Rivalry

Part.8. (The Sibling Rivalry)

His name is Alex Summers, or Prelate Summers. He is Scott's younger brother, but hates to be referred to as such. He feels that he has had to live in his brother's shadow his whole life, and has developed a deep hated for him. While outwardly, he refrains from showing it, as much as he can; inside, he rages. He spends most of his time trying to find ways to advance his status in Apocalypse's army, even at the cost of his own brother. He is a mutant with the power to channel violent plasma blasts. And today he hopes to eliminate his brother, once and for all.

He has been planning this for months now, knowing that Scott would be performing a private tour of the newest wing of the Pens; which has just finished being built. He had paid good money to have a section of the ceiling booby-trapped so that it would collapse on top of Scott as he passed under it; and if that didn't work, he had another surprise waiting for him behind a fake wall.

He arrives at the Pens early and is greeted by Sam. "Hey, Alex."

"Hey, Sam. Has Scott arrived yet?"

"Yeah, he got here awhile ago; headed out to inspect the new wing."

"Really? I better check to see how things are going."

"Ah, Scott left specific instructions that no one was to disturb them until they finished their tour."

"Oh well…wait, _them_?"

"Scott and his new assistant. Didn't you hear about her? Ray and I caught her sneaking around the Pens a couple days ago; it turns out that she works for Scott, and was testing the security."

Alex runs over to the row of monitor that show all the different camera feeds throughout the complex. "Where are they?" he mutters, as he scans the monitors looking for his brother and this woman. "There." He sees them walking down a hall, Scott leading the way, with the woman standing two steps behind and a little to his left. 'She's not just an assistant, she's a bodyguard. Look how she's defending his weaker side; damn it!' he thinks to himself. He notices that they are approaching the section of ceiling that is booby-trapped.

Just as Scott is about to cross the point at which the trap will spring, the woman with him runs forward and tackles him. The ceiling falls, and dust clouds the cameras view. "Oh my God. What happened?" Sam asks.

"It looks like the ceiling collapsed."

"We should go see if they're alright."

Alex stands up and grabs Sam's arm. "No, you stay here and watch the monitors; I'll go see if they're alright."


	9. The Precognition

Part.9. (The Precognition)

A tingling in the back of her head, tells Betsy that something is about to happen. She sees the ceiling collapsing, seconds before it actually will, and reacts. "Watch out!" She yells as she charges forward and tackles Scott to the ground, hoping that she will be able to get them clear of the falling debris. With the practiced skill of a man who has trained his whole life, Scott manages to roll around, and uses his optic blasts to vaporize any debris that might have fallen on them.

He stands up and helps Betsy to her feet. "Are you alright?" He asks.

"Yes; yourself?"

"Sure, thanks for the warning."

Before she can reply she sees the wall to their right being blown open and three attackers charging through. Once again, she reacts, and pulls Scott further down the hall. Seconds later, the wall explodes and three men charge in. Scott immediately lets loose an optic blast taking one of the men down. Betsy runs in and engages the other two in hand to hand combat. Seeing that he can't get a clear shot with her fighting in there, Scott runs in and joins the fight. Betsy has already dealt with one of the men by the time Scott gets there, but the other one is about to stab her in the back; so Scott lunges at him and tackles him to the ground. As he struggles with the assailant, Scott is stabbed in the left arm. Before he man can drive the knife into Scott's chest, Betsy uses her powers to make him freeze. Scott reaches up with his right hand to activate his visor, and blasts the man's head off.

"Scott, your arm…"

"It'll be fine; where is the first guy I blasted? I want answers." He growls.

They both look up to see the man kneeling down in the rubble from the ceiling, but before either of them can approach him, a plasma blast kills him. Alex walks out of the cloud of dust and says, "Scott, thank God you're okay."

"Alex, why did you kill him? I wanted to get some answers first." Scott says.

Alex looks down at the guy then back at Scott and says, "I'm sorry, I thought I saw him reaching for a weapon."

*He's lying.* Betsy telepathically says to Scott. She is amazed that he doesn't even flinch as she talks to him telepathically for the first time; most people are usually surprised to hear someone else's voice in their head.

"What are you doing here, Alex?" he asks.

"I was in the command center and saw the ceiling collapse. I came to see if you were okay."

Scott walks up to his brother and places is right hand on his shoulder, "Thank you, Alex. Here I'm supposed to be looking out for you, and instead you're looking out for me."

"What are brothers for?"

"I'm going to get this wound taken care of, can you lock down this wing and get the builders in here. I want this place fixed and ready to go by tomorrow." He walks past Alex, Betsy right behind him. "And then have them placed into one of the cells until I can question them about what happened here."

"Sure thing, Scott."

When they are out of range, Betsy rushes to Scott's side and tries to support him. "Don't." he whispers.

*But you're hurt; let me help you.*

*I can't let you. If someone sees even a hint of weakness on my part, I might as well put myself in front of a firing squad. Apocalypse preaches survival of the fittest, and people look for any weakness to advance themselves.*

*Okay.*

*Thank you, though. I'm not used to people trying to help me; I appreciate it.*

She watches him walk ahead of her and decides that she might as well tell him what she thinks. *I think that your brother was behind the attack.*

She is surprised to hear him say, *You're probably right. It wouldn't be the first time Alex has tried to advance himself at my expense.*

*At your expense; Scott, he tried to have you killed.*

*I know. But this is the age of Apocalypse; you get used to it after a while, or you die.*

*How can you just let him get away with that? From what you've told me about Apocalypse and his teachings, shouldn't Alex be punished for his failures?*

She can see him sigh. *Not punished, killed; but he's my little brother, and I won't ever let anything happen to him.*

Betsy tries to digest everything while they make their way back to the command center. Sam stands up and salutes as Scott enters. "Sir, are you alright?"

"Yes, Guthrie; I am. Shouldn't you be on patrol?"

"Ah, no sir, it's my shift to watch the monitors."

"Well, then, I'm going to want a copy of everything that happened in that hallway just now on my desk, along with your report by morning."

"Yes Sir."

Betsy follows Scott out to his bike and is surprised when he says, "You drive; I can barely lift my arm." She climbs onto the bike and allows Scott to climb on behind her. He wraps his right arm around her waist, and she gently accelerates away. "Give it a little gas, I can hold on just fine."

"It's not that I'm trying to go slow for you, I don't have much experience driving these things."

"Well, once Healer patches me up, I'll have to start giving you some lessons; you never know when I'll need you to get me out of a sticky situation quickly."

The moment Betsy closes the door to Scott's place, she rushes to help steady him. She can see that blood has soaked the arm if his uniform, and is starting to drip from his fingers. "How do I contact Healer?" she asks, as she walks him to the living room.

"I already sent him a message while we were on our way here; he should be here any moment."

She helps him sit down on the couch, and decides that she needs to do something for him until Healer gets there; so she rips open the sleeve of his uniform, and uses a strip of it to wrap the wound tightly. "There, this should slow down the bleeding. I'll be right back." She gets up and runs to the washroom to get something to clean the wound. When she gets back, Healer is already sitting next to Scott healing him. She walks around the couch to see that Scott's head is tilted back, and his breathing is shallow. "Scott?"

"I'm fine; just a little light headed from blood loss. The knife must have nicked an artery."

Betsy looks at Healer, who nods to her. He removes his hands, and the wound is gone, not even a scar remains. He stands up and leaves.

Betsy sits down next to Scott. "How are you feeling?"

"My arm feels great, but, unfortunately, Healer is unable to replace blood, so I'm still a little weak."

"Let's get you cleaned up, and then you can rest." She helps him stand up, and supports him as he makes his way to the washroom. She helps him sit on the edge of the bathtub. "Stop, let me do that." She says as he is about to turn on the water. She turns on the water, and grabs a washcloth. She proceeds to wash the blood from his arm, before drying it off.

"Thank you." He says, his voice barely a whisper.

"Let's get you to bed, you need to rest." She helps him stand and follows him into his bedroom. Once he is seated on the bed, she says, "You might as well get rid of that top, the sleeve is gone, and there's blood on your side." She reaches down and helps him remove it. She is a little surprised to see just how muscular he is; as she assumed that his high standing in Apocalypse's organization would have left him a little pampered.

He flops back onto his bed, and passes out. She decides to sit down in his chair in case he wakes up and needs anything. She's not sure when, but she falls asleep.

* * *

><p>When she wakes up, she sees that Scott is not in his bed anymore. She gets up and finds him in the garage, working on one of his cars. "Scott, you should be resting; you lost a lot of blood."<p>

He looks up from the engine and says, "I couldn't sleep. I ah…"

She waits for him to continue, but realizes that he isn't going to. *What's wrong Scott?*

*It's nothing.*

*Scott, you can trust me; I know you barely know me, but you can. Just like I know I can trust you.*

He stops working and sighs *I do trust you. I've just never had anyone I could talk to about this, and I don't know how.*

*How about you start by forgetting about the car, and lying back down.*

*I find it more relaxing to do this.*

*More relaxing, maybe, but not the healthiest thing to do.*

He wipes his hands on a rag and follows her to the living room. He sits on the couch while she gets them a bottle of wine and two glasses. "So _this_ is supposed to be healthy?" he asks, indicating the wine.

"Maybe not healthy, but it can't hurt." She pours them two glasses, and hands one to him.

He takes the glass and sips it. "Angel may be a little shady, but he sure knows how to get the good stuff."

"Don't try changing the subject; let's talk about what's bothering you." When she sees that he is hesitant, she uses her powers, *If you'd prefer to talk telepathically, we can.*

*Thanks, it actually does feel easier to talk like this.*

*Go on then.*

*Well, I've never been able to sleep properly for as long as I can remember. I have this reoccurring nightmare every time I close my eyes, and I can't get back to sleep. I know it sounds childish, and not the big issue you might have thought was bothering me; but it's the truth. I've never been able to talk to anyone about it because, people would find some way to use it against me.*

She can sense that he is embarrassed and is about to close up again, so she asks, *What is the dream about?*

*It's about the plane crash that killed my parents. Alex and I were just kids, and the engine caught fire. My mother put parachutes on us and told us to jump. We were barely out the door, when the plane exploded. My chute caught fire and I hit the ground hard. I woke up in a hospital six months later.*

*Oh my God, that's horrible; I'm so sorry.* she reaches over and places her hand on his knee.

*I don't know why I'm still having this dream, it's been ten years since the crash.* She rubs his knee and moves closer to him. *I just want it to stop. I'm sick of seeing my parents die every night. It's like some cruel joke that God is playing on me.*

*I doubt that; there's probably a perfectly reasonable explanation for it.*

*Thanks for listening, Betsy; it feels good to actually have someone I can talk to openly.*

*Any time, Scott.* She hesitates before saying, *If you ever want, I can use my telepathy to put you to sleep for however long you like; and it would be dream free.*

*Thanks for the offer, but I've survived this long.*

She sees him frown and places her arm around his shoulders. A tingle tells her that he is about to shrug off her arm and stand up, so she leans forward and kisses him on the lips. When she pulls back, she smiles at the shocked look on his face. Before he can say anything, she gets up and heads to her room. *Maybe that'll give you something else to dream about.* she says before severing the telepathic connection.

* * *

><p>'What the hell was that about?' Scott thinks to himself, sometime later, while lying in bed. 'She can't possibly be interested in me; it must have been her idea of a joke.' He turns onto his side and looks at a picture hanging in the wall. It's the only thing left to him from his life before the plane crash; a family photo, that he has had blown up and framed. He was only five at the time the picture was taken, and Alex hadn't turned three yet. His father had one hand on Scott's shoulder, and the other around his wife, who was holding Alex in her arms. As he stares at the photo, it starts to change; his father stats to look more and more like him, while his mother's brown hair turns purple and she takes on a more Asian appearance until she looks like Betsy. Even the boys change; Scott is replaced by a little girl with long black hair, while Alex's blond hair turns brown.<p>

He shakes his head, and blinks; the photo returns to normal. 'Wow, I must have really lost a lot of blood; I'm hallucinating.' He thinks to himself. He turns onto his back, and is surprised to find Betsy lying next to him.

She climbs on top of him and places a finger to his lips. "Shh, don't speak; just go with it." She whispers before removing her finger and kissing him.

He surprises himself when he starts kissing her back. He then wraps his arms around her back and is shocked to realize that she's naked. He pulls her to him, and enjoys the feeling of her skin against his chest. When they finally break their kiss, he says, "Now I know I must be hallucinating; this can't possibly be real."

She runs her hand done his chest and slides it into his shorts. "Feels real to me." She says before kissing him again.

* * *

><p>He wakes up the next morning, and realizes that he slept through the night without having the nightmare. He turns his head, and sees Betsy, still sleeping, cuddled up against him. He watches her sleep, letting himself enjoy the feeling of her warm body pressed up against his. He thinks back to two years ago, and is happy he made the decision he did that day.<p>

(Two Years Earlier)

Scott sneaks down the hallway to the cell containing the prisoner, Val Cooper. His discussions with her over the past two weeks have lead to this decision. He has managed to cut the feeds to the cameras for a few minutes; just enough time to run to the cell and back.

"Let's go, Val." he says as he opens the door.

Val is crouched over another prisoner, who wasn't there this morning. "Scott, we have to take her with us." She says, looking up at him.

Scott approaches them and sees that the other prisoner is an Asian woman with short purple hair. "Who is she?"

"She's one of my people; kind of."

"What do you mean 'kind of'?"

"It'll take too long to explain; all you need to know is that she'll die unless we get her out of here."

Scott bends down and scoops her up in his arms. "Alright, follow me." He leads Val back down the hall to the secret doorway. Once the door is closed, they follow the tunnel out of the complex and to the river. "This way." Scott says, heading down river until they come to a partially collapsed warehouse. "Over there, behind the crates."

Val runs over to the indicated crates, and comes out with a miniature hover-craft. "This is amazing." She says.

"It's all I could find on short notice, but it should get you far enough away to get a signal to your people. I didn't think it would be carrying two, though."

Val looks at him, puzzled. "What do you mean? I thought you were coming with me."

"No, I can't. My life is here; my brother is here."

"But, I thought you had changed your mind about Apocalypse."

"I have, but I can't just walk away; they'll know it was me and punish my brother. Besides, I believe I can do more good from inside his organization." He looks around the warehouse, and then says, "You better get going; I have to return to my quarters before anyone notices I'm gone." He walks over to the hover-craft, and gently lays the woman inside it. Before he can step back, she reaches up and strokes the side of his face, then passes out.

Val steps up beside him and says, "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes."

She turns him to face her and hugs him. "Thank you, Scott. We owe you our lives."

"I owe you for opening my eyes to reality."

"What are you going to do now?"

"I don't know, but do me a favor and don't tell anyone it was me who helped you; Apocalypse has his spies in the Council. Tell your people, however, that if they ever need anything, to leave a message where you found the hover-craft; I pass by this warehouse regularly, and it only takes a minute to run in and check."

"I'll do that." She suddenly looks sad. "Do you think we'll ever see each other again?"

"Who knows? But until Apocalypse is defeated, I hope not."

"Why not?"

"Because it'll mean either you were captured again, or I had to escape to Europe."

She leans forward and kisses him, quickly, on the lips. "Good-bye Scott." She climbs into the hover-craft and guides it through a hole in the wall, then out onto the river.

Scott watches them go, and then pulls his hover-cycle out from behind another stack of crates. He glances at the hole in the wall that they left through, and wishes that he could have gone too.

* * *

><p>Betsy wakes up to see Scott staring at her. "Morning." he says.<p>

She smiles and says, "Morning to you too." He smiles back and kisses her forehead. "Well, I've never done anything like that before."

"Like what?"

"Like, throw myself completely at someone; but I couldn't help myself. You're a very special man, Scott Summers."

"No I'm not; I'm just an ordinary man, like everyone else."

"No you're not, Scott. I've known from the moment you removed my collar that you were special. I could have killed you right then and there, and escaped without a problem, I read as much in your mind when I scanned it and you knew that; yet you still removed the collar. You were raised into a life of privilege, taught to believe that you were superior to everyone else, and yet you've always fought for the 'little guy'. You defy your masters on a regular basis, knowing that discovery will mean your death; yet you do it anyways." She kisses him briefly. "And you never even thought about taking advantage of me once, despite having several opportunities too."

"It's nice of you to say these things, but..."

"No buts." She says as she climbs on top of him. "You can be as modest as you want, but I'm speaking the truth. I didn't fall in love with just anybody." She sees the same shock she's feeling about what she just said, reflected on his face. She tries to roll away, but he grabs her arms and holds her in place.

"What did you say?"

"I, ah...I was just saying that, ah...what I meant to say was, ah..." She realizes that she's blushing and stuttering, and that he knows perfectly well what she said.

He places a finger to her lips to stop her from talking, and says, "I love you too, Betsy." The next thing she knows, they're kissing again. He holds her tightly, and she lets herself enjoy the feeling of his strong arms holding her close to him.


	10. The Commitment

Part.10. (The Commitment)

During the next six months, the two of them are inseparable. She even follows him into battle to defeat the traitorous horsemen War. Her precognitive powers save them both from another assassination attempt by Alex. They spend their nights in each others arms, talking about a future they hope to someday see, or working on plans to free prisoners.

Tonight, they've managed to free six prisoners, and are almost at the rendezvous point. "Alright people," Scott says in his Magneto disguise, "Just around this last corner."

Betsy, equipped with a holo-emitter that makes her look like Storm, says, "Hurry everybody, the boat is waiting."

They turn the corner to find Val Cooper standing guard over the boat. The prisoners rush forward and jump into the boat, while Val heads over to the tunnel; out of everyone's line of sight. Scott and Betsy turn off their emitters. Val looks at Betsy and laughs, before hugging her. "I had heard that you got captured, but that you were okay." She hugs Scott, "And I heard that you were now working with a partner; but, I still couldn't believe that one and one equalled two until tonight. It's good to see you both."

"It's always good to see you, Val." Scott says, as he activates his emitter and walks away. "I'm gonna go get the bike ready, so you two can catch up."

"So how did this happen?" Val asks.

"I was captured and hurt; Scott freed me and got me healed up. After that, he offered me a job as his bodyguard/assistant; I accepted."

"Amazing, two years since the first time he saved your life, and he does it again." Betsy looks confused, so Val continues. "You don't remember your first escape from the Pens, do you?"

"Only what you told me." She pauses, as she finally pieces it together. "Oh my God; Scott was Magneto."

"Well not really. He was just Scott at the time, but he made me promise to keep his involvement a secret; so I made up the part about Magneto. I told Scott about it the next time we met, and he's developed his emitter since." Val glances around and then says, "Look, I would love to stay and chat, but I've got to get away before we're discovered. Are you coming?"

"No; my place is with Scott, now."

With another quick hug, Val runs to the boat and casts off. Betsy activates her emitter, and walks over to where Scott is hiding with the bike. When she is sure that she's out of site of the boat, she turns her emitter off again, and then hops on the bike behind Scott. She is silent the entire trip home, as she thinks about what she has just found out from Val.

As Scott locks up, Betsy wanders through the house, to the bedroom she now shares with Scott. Several minutes later, Scott walks in. "You okay, Betsy?" He asks, concern in his voice.

"Scott, why did you never tell me that it was you who freed me two years ago?"

"I don't know; does it really matter?" He approaches her until he is standing right behind her. "Besides, I thought you knew when I showed you my emitter."

"I was a little distracted with everything going on to really process it at the time." She turns and hugs him, "And yes, it really does matter. Scott, I would have died if you hadn't rescued me; died, or lived the rest of my life in a coma. It took nearly a year of doctors and telepaths working with me to restore me to normal." She looks him in the eye and says, "Scott, I want to try something; but only if you want."

"What is it?"

"I want to try and create a psychic bond between us."

"What'll that do?"

"It'll establish a permanent rapport so that we share everything. It will allow us a level of closeness, intimacy, and trust like no other."

"It almost sounds like you're proposing to me, Betsy." He says with a smile.

She smiles back and lays her head on his shoulder. "It's not like I could even if I wanted too. There are no marriages in Apocalypse's realm, and even if there were, it would just make me a target for people wanting to hurt you."

He puts his hands on her shoulders and pushes her back slightly, then takes her hands in his and gets down on one knee. "Elisabeth Braddock, will you marry me?"

"Scott, we can't; it's impossible."

"It may not be official, but it'll be real to us; and one day we'll make it official, when Apocalypse is finally defeated."

"You're serious?"

"Yes. It'll be just between us, but nothing could make me happier, then having you as my wife. So, will you marry me?"

"Yes, of course, love." She says as he stands up and scoops her into his arms.

"So does that mean you want me to create a psychic bond?"

"Definitely, my love. I want to share everything with you."

* * *

><p>Another six months pass without any real issues.<p>

Betsy wakes up one morning and feels sick to her stomach. Trying not to wake Scott, she climbs out of bed and heads to the washroom to throw-up.

Scott hears her and rushes to the washroom. He kneels down beside her and holds her long hair back. "Honey, are you okay? Do you want me to get Healer?"

"Don't bother healer, I'm not sick." She looks him in the eye and says, "I think I'm pregnant."

"Are you sure?"

"I don't know, it's not like I've ever been pregnant before, but I can sense something else inside of me."

"Do you want to head to the med-lab? I'm sure I've got something that will tell us if you're pregnant or not."

"Yeah, let's do that." She says as Scott helps her to her feet. She then rinses her mouth before they head to the med-lab in his offices. He helps her lie down on the examination table before he starts rummaging through his equipment.

"Sorry about this, but I never really got to use this room much before I found Healer; so I don't know where everything is." He pulls something out of a drawer and says, "Ah, here we are."

Betsy sees him bring over a device that looks like a flat screen monitor attached to a scanner with a curly cord. "What's that?" She asks.

"It's a portable ultra-sound machine. I bought it in case I would ever need to remove bullets or shrapnel; but that's not important right now." He hands her the monitor. "Here hold this for me." He turns it on and places the scanner on her belly. "Ah, I have no idea where I'm supposed to be looking."

She places her right hand on top of his, closes her eyes and guides him. "There." She says.

He looks down at the monitor for a minute and then says, "I think I see something."

"Where?" She asks, as she turns the monitor so she can see too.

"Right there." He says, pointing at the spot on the screen.

She smiles. "That's her. Oh my God, Scott, I'm pregnant." She starts to cry.

He places the machine down on the table next to her. He puts his hand on top of hers and asks, "Honey, are you alright?"

"Of course I am, love; these are tears of joy. Scott, we're going to have a baby." She hugs him, and then kisses him before lying back down.

"Honey, I think you should go back to England the next chance you get." He says.

"What?" She demands, sitting up to look him in the eye. "Why should I do that?"

"Because, this isn't a safe place to raise a child."

"So what? We'll make it safe. I'm not going to just go away and leave you here. I'll only go if we go together."

"You know I can't go." He says, sounding defeated.

"Right; then neither can I. My place is by your side, Scott Summers. We're going to have a baby and be a family, and there isn't a damn thing you can do about it."

"Well, I guess we can convert the spare bedroom into the baby's room." He says. "Angel can probably find everything we'll need; although he's smart enough to put two and two together, so I'll have to pay him extra for his silence."

She smiles again. "So, this means we're going to do this?"

"Yes we are, Honey."

She pulls him into a hug, which turns into a kiss. "Oh Scott, I'm so happy right now."

"So am I; but I just have one question."

"What, my love?"

"Why did you say 'her' before? Isn't it a little early to know the babies gender?"

She thinks back to what she said, and then reaches out with her senses to the being growing inside of her. "I know it's too early to tell medically, but I can sense that it'll be a girl; you understand, right?"

"That's good enough for me, Honey." He places his hand over the spot where the baby is growing. "At least we can get a head start on names now."

* * *

><p>*Scott!* Betsy screams into his mind, almost causing him to lose control of his bike.<p>

*Betsy, what is it? Are you okay? Is it the baby?* He thinks back to her along their psychic bond.

*Scott, the baby is coming; I need you.*

*I'll be right there.* He thinks back. He raises his hand and calls for a halt. All the prelates that had been assigned to his squad come to a stop beside him. He turns to Alex and says, "Alex, something has come up, and I must return. I'm placing you in charge of the unit; follow the plan, and capture the rebels." Before Alex can reply, he spins his bike around and starts speeding back home. *Betsy, did you get in touch with Healer?*

*Yes, love, he's already here with me.*

*Good; I should be home within the hour.*

*I love you Scott.*

*I love you too Betsy.*

* * *

><p>Forty-three minutes later, Scott nearly crashes his bike as he comes barrelling into the garage. Leaving the bike in the middle of the room, he jumps off it and rushes to the med-lab, to find Betsy on the examination table, with Healer standing at the end. "I'm here, my love." He says running to her side. "How are you doing?"<p>

"Oh, I've been better, but at least Healer is able to keep most of the pain away." She says as she reaches for his hand.

"What do you need me to do?" He looks from Betsy to Healer and back to Betsy.

"I need you to _be here_." She says. *I need your strength and love to help me through this.*

He bends down and kisses her briefly. *Then that's what I'll give you.*

For the next seven hours, Betsy is in labor; drawing strength and love from Scott through their psychic bond. At one point, Scott received a call on his com-link and he seemed angry, but put those emotions away so he could support her. When she had tried to get some information about it, he had told her that it could wait.

Finally, with one last push, the baby is born. Healer immediately starts clearing its airways, then wraps it up in a blanket, and hands it to Betsy. "Here is your daughter." He says.

She is so shocked to hear him speak, that she says, "You can speak? In all the time I've known you, you've never spoken a single word."

He smiles. "Yes I can speak. I just never really needed to say anything."

The baby starts to cry, and Betsy turns her attention to her. Scott extends his hand to Healer, who shakes it. "Thank you, my friend." He says.

Healer just nods and hands him a pair of surgical scissors to cut the cord with. Once that is done, Healer leaves the two new parents with their child.

*Our daughter, Scott; isn't she beautiful.* Betsy says as she starts to cry.

*Of course she's beautiful; she looks like her mother.* Scott says as he kisses her tears.

*Our beautiful daughter, Katherine Braddock Summers.*

She senses his surprise through their bond. *Katherine? Are you sure? I thought you wanted to name her after your grandmother.*

*I did, but I could sense how much you really wanted to name her after your mother; and how can I deny you anything, love, after you've just given me the greatest gift ever.*

He kisses her. *Thank you, Betsy. I love you so much.* He bends over and gently kisses his daughters forehead. "And I love you, just as much, Katherine."

*Why don't you hold her, love; I think she'd like that.* She hands Katherine to him, and he looks a little worried about how to hold her, but quickly adjusts her until she is pressed up against his chest. She stops crying within seconds. *Look at that; she loves her daddy too.* She sees a tear fall from behind his visor. *Scott?*

*Yes.*

*Would you mind watching her while I take a nap, I'm a little tired.*

*Sure thing, honey; get some rest.*

* * *

><p>Scott holds his daughter for an hour after she falls asleep, before placing her in the bassinette beside Betsy's bed. He heads into his office and sits at his desk. Composing himself, he activates the comm.<p>

He only has to wait a few seconds before the face of Jesse Bedlam fills his screen. "Prelate Summers." Jesse says.

"Jesse, what happened? The truth, not whatever story Alex is making up."

"Well Scott, the moment you left, Alex changed the plan. He ordered a full frontal assault on the building, saying that it would make things quicker, and reduce casualties. However, with no one guarding escape routes, most of the rebels got away before we could breach their defenses. Three rebels were killed and we managed to capture one; but Alex killed him in frustration."

"Damn it!" Scott yells as he slams his fist on the desk.

"Scott; Alex has already left to give his report to Sinister, and is no doubt spinning it in a way that will make it look like this was your fault. I hope you have a good reason for leaving the raid."

"Unfortunately, the tip I received about a possible mass break-out, turned out to be nothing more than an assassination attempt." Scott lies with the story he had cooked up for just such an occasion. "And don't worry about Sinister, he knows Alex as well as I do, and won't buy into his lies. I'll just have to head this off and make my report to Apocalypse in person." He sees the fear in Jesse's face. "Don't worry Jesse; you know I'd never sell anyone out to save myself. I'll explain everything to him and accept whatever punishment he deems necessary."

"Take care of yourself, Scott."

"Thanks Jesse." He says as he cuts the connection.

He pulls out a data pad, and starts writing a letter he hopes Betsy will not have to read. When he is done, he goes to see Healer and hands it to him, telling him to only give it to Betsy if he doesn't hear from him within two hours. With that done, he jumps onto his bike and heads to Apocalypse's citadel. Luckily for him, his status in high enough to grant him access to Apocalypse's chambers.

"Ah, Prelate Summers, it has been a while since we've seen each other." Apocalypse says as he looks over Scott's shoulder. "And without Sinister; this is a first."

"Apocalypse." Scott says, saluting. "I've come to give you my report of the raid on the rebel cell last night, personally."

"Go on then; I hope that everything was successful and that the cell was rooted out."

"Actually sir, I've come to report that the mission was a failure. Four rebels were killed, while the rest escaped."

"You know that failure is unacceptable, Summers?"

"Yes, sir. I only ask that my men not be punished; they were only following orders."

"And whose orders were they following? Yours; or your brother's?" Apocalypse watches Scott for any sign of fear. "Oh yes, Scott; I already know what _really_ happened; I always know. Your plan would have succeeded, but your brother wants so much to advance that he took a chance. I admire both his determination, and your courage; yes courage. Not even my own Horsemen would ever report a failure to me, and claim it as their own; they would find a scapegoat. But not you, Scott; you, instead, try to protect those serving under you. I knew I chose right the day I gave you command of the EMF and my Breeding Pens. Know this, Scott Summers, I have now marked you as a possible Horseman; I will be watching you closely, from now on."

Scott hears the dismissal in his voice. "Thank you." He says as he salutes.

He starts to walk away, when Apocalypse asks, "What was so urgent that you had to leave the raid?"

"One of my informants tipped me off to a mass break-out led by Magneto, but it turned out to be an attempt to assassinate me."

"And what of the informant?"

"He won't be informing anyone about anything ever again."

"Excellent. You may go."

Scott leaves Apocalypse's chambers and starts heading home. He stops on the way and contacts Healer, telling him that he will be picking up the data pad soon.


	11. The Adventures of Slym and Redd

Part.11. (The Adventures of Slym and Redd)

Betsy had been unable to continue her regular duties for awhile after Katherine's birth, but insisted on continuing to help with the escapes.

About three months after giving birth, Scott called her into his office and told her about an urgent rescue that he wanted to attempt, and that he would be doing it alone. Apparently, one of Magneto's X-Men had been captured, and was about to be transferred from Sinister's private labs, to a secret location. He didn't know the identity of the X-Man, but figured that it would be a good opportunity to make contact with Magneto.

Betsy insisted that she help, but Scott was adamant about her not getting involved. "It's too dangerous, Bets; I won't risk you on this one. This isn't like one of our regular rescues, where I have everything planned out, with multiple redundancies; I may have to play this one by ear, and improvise." He says.

"All the more reason to bring me along, Luv; so I can watch your back." She replies.

"No; all the more reason not to bring you. On our regular rescues, I know exactly what you're doing, and where you are; but I'd be distracted worrying about you if you came on this one, and that could get us both killed." Scott says, reaching out and cupping her cheek. "I trust you with my life, Betsy; but I don't trust myself with yours."

"Scott…"

"No, Betsy; this discussion is over." He says, in an assertive voice. "I'll be leaving in a little while, and should be back within a couple of days." His voice softens. "I love you, Betsy; take care of Kat."

With that said, he walks out of the office, leaving her standing there.

She waits until she hears his bike drive away, and then calls Healer.

* * *

><p>'You had to do it; she'll understand.' Scott thinks to himself as he drives along. 'You can't risk her on this one; it's too dangerous.'<p>

He comes to a stop, on the outskirts of the war-torn city, and hides his bike inside a crumbling house. He has to make the rest of the trip on foot, if he is to have any hope of not being discovered.

A short hike through the woods, and he finds himself at the location he had prepared for his attack. Understanding that he can't use his powers, or he'll be discovered, he had hidden several firearms, and set up several traps along this path.

Finding the sack, he puts on the disguise, grabs the firearms, positions himself, and waits.

He doesn't have to wait long, as around the bend, the convoy comes. He sees two guards walking in front of the armoured carriage, which has two guards riding in it along with the prisoner, and two more guards walking behind the carriage.

He watches, as the front two guards approach the first trap he has set. The first one suddenly disappears, as the ground gives out from underneath him, while the second guard, who was a step behind, manages to spin and grab the edge of the hole that is now in the middle of the road.

Scott cuts the rope that is tied to the tree he is hiding behind, and takes aim at the guard trying to pull himself out of the hole. A net holding up several large rocks, comes crashing down on the two rear guards, just as Scott fires; hitting the guard in the back of the head, and causing his dead body to fall into the hole.

He switches his aim to the two rear guards, and sees the one of them is still alive; so he fires, killing him.

Sprinting away from the tree he is using for cover, he ducks behind a boulder to the side of the carriage, just as the side door opens, and one of the guard's steps out. Without hesitation, Scott puts a bullet between his eyes.

As his body collapses, a bolt of electricity comes flying out of the open doorway, and slams into the boulder; Scott barely manages to hide in time.

'Shit! Crisp!' He thinks to himself.

"Show yourself, filth!" He hears a familiar voice shout. "Show yourself now, or I kill the gene-traitor!"

Scott peaks out from behind the boulder and sees that Prelate Crisp is holding the prisoner, a red-headed woman, in front of him; using her for cover.

"I know you're behind that rock; come out!" He shouts, shooting off another bolt of electricity at the boulder.

Scott hadn't planned on Crisp being part of the guard, and isn't too happy about having to face off against one of his own men. He tries to think of a plan, but a cry of pain from the woman forces his hand.

He removes his visor, and pockets it, before stepping out into the open, and tossing the rifle he had been using away.

Just as he expected, as soon as he is in the open, he is hit by a bolt of electricity, sending him tumbling to the ground. Seconds later, Crisp is on him, rolling him over onto his back, and lifting the hood up so that he can see his face. "Summers?" He says, shocked.

"I'm sorry, Ray." Scott manages to say between clenched teeth, as he opens his eyes, and blasts Crisp.

Once he regains control of his limbs, Scott puts his visor back on, stands up, and looks around; what is left of Crisp if lying on the ground several feet away from him. He walks over to the prisoner, and helps her up off the floor.

"Thank you." She says, but Scott ignores her, and walks around to check the other guards.

Inside the hole, the bodies of the two first guards are impaled on the hidden metal re-bar that Scott had planted at the bottom. At the back of the carriage, one guard had his head crushed by the falling rocks, while the other has a bullet hole in his head.

He walks back to the prisoner, and searches the dead guard at her feet. Finding the key to the inhibitor collar, he removes it from around her neck.

"Thank you again." She says, before collapsing.

Scott manages to catch her before she hits the ground. 'Great; she's unconscious. Well, this is going to complicate things.' He thinks to himself. 'I won't make it back to my bike carrying her, before I'm discovered.'

He looks around, and quickly comes up with an alternate plan. Scooping up the woman in a fireman's carry, he jogs down the road until he is back within the city limits. He sees a storm drain off the side of the road, and decides that it will probably be his best chance for escape.

* * *

><p>Betsy surveys the carnage; amazed that Scott had apparently managed to kill six EMF soldiers alone.<p>

'No sign of any of Sinister's forces; so this must have just happened. Scott couldn't have gotten that far away.' She thinks, and starts heading back towards Scott's bike; which she had used it's built in locator, to track him with.

She does a cursory scan with her telepathy, hoping to pick up on his whereabouts, and is surprised when she senses him heading in the opposite direction. 'Where are you going, Scott?' She thinks, turning back.

'Why is he heading away from his bike? Did something happen? Is he hurt?' She thinks, wondering if she should risk opening up her connection with Scott to find out. 'Better not; he might be in danger, and it might distract him.'

She arrives at the edge of the city, and starts to get scared. 'What if it was a trap, and he was actually captured? Why else would he come this way?'

She does another quick scan and senses him, but somewhere below her. She looks off to the side, and sees a storm drain that has its grate slightly ajar. 'What is going on here, Scott? And, where are you going?'

* * *

><p>After about fifteen minutes of trudging through the ankle deep sludge, Scott can feel the woman starting to stir; so he finds an elevated dry spot, and lays her down.<p>

Not long after, her eyes start to open, and she begins to moan. "Relax." Scott says. "You're safe."

The woman tries to sit up, but lays back down quickly. "Ow, my head."

"Yeah, those inhibitor collars can be pretty bad." He says. "Take a minute and try to gather yourself, but we need to keep moving."

"Where am I?" She asks, finally able to sit up. "Who are you?"

"I'm a friend, and we're underground, in the storm drains. I wouldn't have made it to my transportation, while carrying you, before being discovered; so I came here." He says, looking around. "I figured it would provide enough cover for me to get you far enough away that we could call for help."

She shifts over, until her feet are hanging over the edge of the dry spot, and says, "Well then, we better keep moving."

She hops down, and slips, but is immediately caught by Scott. "Careful; it's really slippery down here, and you're still not one-hundred percent." Scott says, steadying her. "Maybe you should lean on me?"

"Thanks." She says, placing her arm around his neck. "That sounds like a good idea. I'm Jean, by the way; Jean Grey."

They continue walking; Scott guiding her around the turns and bends.


	12. The Proverb

Part.12. (The Proverb)

He doesn't know his real name, but he goes by Logan, or Weapon X. He is a mutant with a super human healing factor; which is why he was selected to undergo secret government experiments that grafted adamantium to his skeleton. He suffers from fits of berserker rage, that he has problems controlling without the help of his lover, Jean Grey. He has enhanced senses that allow him to track people over great distances; which is what have brought him here, to this storm drain.

He sniffs the air again, able to pick out the traces of Jean's scent among the overpowering smell of filth; but he can also smell another scent that he first picked up back at the carriage. A low growl escapes his lips, as he curls them up, revealing his teeth. 'I'm coming Jeannie, baby.' He thinks to himself. 'And whoever this person is that has you had better be ready, because no one is going to keep you from me.'

He arrives at a split in the drain, and sniffs again. He can tell that they went left, but he is also picking up their scents coming from the right. 'This must lead to a connecting tunnel further down the line.' He thinks. 'Might even be a short-cut.'

He turns right, and runs down the tunnel, following the scent as it gets stronger. 'Definitely a short-cut.'

He stops in his tracks as he hears voices. Looking around, he spots a small drain higher up on the wall, and determines that the voices are coming from there. Climbing up quickly, he crouches down, and starts silently making his way down the tunnel.

* * *

><p>Betsy steps out from the shadows of a side tunnel that she had ducked into when she had sensed someone coming up behind her. 'Who was that? He wasn't one of Sinister's men.' She thinks as she quietly follows this new arrival. 'I almost didn't even sense him until he was right on me. If I hadn't used my powers to cloud his senses, he would have found me.'<p>

She reaches out, and tries to do a cursory scan of his mind, but pulls back almost immediately. 'His mind is so raw; I couldn't bear to be in it. It was almost animalistic; so full of rage, and anger.' She decides not to continue following him, and ducks down another tunnel, hoping to get to Scott first.

'Be careful, my love.' She thinks.

* * *

><p>"So, are you going to tell me your name, or I am just supposed to keep calling you 'hey you'?" Jean says, as they trek through the muck; which is slowly getting deeper.<p>

"My name isn't important." Scott replies, shifting his head slightly, to allow the hood to cover his face a little bit more. "We need to keep moving, and get you somewhere safe; so you can contact the X-Men."

Jean stops walking, causing Scott to nearly tumble. "Why would I contact the X-men?" She asks, suddenly suspicious.

Scott turns to look at her, still keeping as much of his face hidden as he can. "Because you are a member of the team; aren't you?" He asks. "That's what my information said; that Sinister was transporting a member of the X-Men to a secret location."

"How did you find that out? Even Magneto has been unable to get any kind of information out of Apocalypse's camp." Jean asks, leaning against the wall. "Who are you?"

"I already told you; my name isn't important." Scott replies.

"If I'm going to trust you; it is." Jean says. "How do I know you're not one of Apocalypse's lapdogs, and this isn't some elaborate trap to get me to bring in the X-Men so they can be ambushed?"

"It's not." Scott replies, turning away from her. "Besides, even if I told you my name, you wouldn't trust me."

"Why do you say that?" Jean asks, trying to step away, but she's too weak to move.

Scott slowly removes his hood, and turns around to face her.

"Cyclops!" She shouts. "I knew it was a trap!" Despite her weakness, she tries to use her telekinesis to support her as she backs away.

"No, it's not." He says, reaching out to stop her.

Suddenly a loud roar can be heard, and a Scott jumps back as, in a blur of motion, someone drops down from above.

* * *

><p>Weapon X has just reached the end of the tunnel and can see Jean and a hooded figure below him. The hooded figure is removing his hood, and Weapon X recognizes him immediately, as Cyclops; Sinister's lieutenant.<p>

"Cyclops!" Jean shouts out. "I knew it was a trap!"

Weapon X doesn't hear Cyclops' reply; as he sees him step towards Jean, reaching out for her, he enters a berserker rage, roars out in anger, and lunges down at Cyclops.

But Cyclops is faster than he thought, as he is able to jump out of the way. He can hear Jean and Cyclops speaking, but is so deep into his berserker rage, that he can't make any sense of it.

With another roar, he lunges at Cyclops again, but is knocked back by an optic blast; this, however, does noting to slow him down, and instead sends him even deeper in his berserker rage.

As he stands up, he sees that Cyclops has reached Jean, and is pulling her arm.

Weapon X kicks up a spray of muck that disguises his movements, as he steps to the left and lunges again, swiping down with his left hand.

As he clears the muck, Weapon X can see that Cyclops has pulled Jean behind him to protect her, and is firing an optic blast into the center of the spray of muck.

Weapon X starts to come to his senses, but too late. He tries to retract his claws, and is able to pull them back enough that rather than slice open Cyclops' head, he only cuts into his face. As his claws slice through the visor, and make contact with his eye, a huge blast takes place, and everyone is thrown back.

* * *

><p>'Whoa! That was too close.' Scott thinks to himself as he barely manages to jump out of the way of the short hairy man that came lunging at him from above.<p>

"Logan!" Jean shouts out in surprise.

'Logan.' Cyclops thinks, and then the name and the man's appearance ring a bell. "Weapon X!" He shouts out, as Weapon X lunges at him again.

He barely has time to fire off an optic blast; but manages to knock Weapon X back far enough for him to reach Jean.

"We have to move!" Scott shouts at Jean, as he reaches out and grabs her arm.

But she isn't listening to him; she is too focused on Weapon X.

Weapon X kicks up a wall of muck that Scott thinks he's going to use as a shield for an attack, so he pulls Jean behind him, and fires an optic blast through the center of the wall of muck.

But he's wrong, and sees Weapon X coming at him from his right. He sees the claws extended, and knows that he won't be able to get out of the way before they slice through him. 'I'm sorry, Betsy.' He thinks.

He feels the claws start to slice through the flesh on his forehead, before feeling a sudden explosive pain from his left eye.

He's unsure whether or not he actually shouts out in pain, but unconsciousness takes him before he can find out.

* * *

><p>Betsy can hear the first roar just around the corner, and runs as fast as she can. She arrives in time to see Weapon X lunging at Scott from behind a wall of muck, and knows that Scott will not survive if she doesn't do something.<p>

Reaching out, without any finesse or concern for his life, she enters Weapon X's mind and tries to shut it off; but his mind is too fractured to completely shut down. She senses someone else in his mind trying to calm him down; so she pushes as hard as she can.

Just before she is kicked out of his mind, she is able to shut off his berserker rage; but it is too late to prevent what is about to happen.

Betsy watches, in what seems like slow motion, as Weapon X's claws slice into Scott's face and visor, before a huge blast knocks everyone back.

She is far enough away, that she isn't knocked over; so she runs to Scott's crumpled form against the wall. She sees three clean cuts running diagonal across his face, from forehead to his cheek, and a hole where his left eye should be.

"Scott!" She shouts, as she tries to enter his mind and wake him. "Oh my God, Luv; please wake up!" She senses that he is still alive, but unconscious from the trauma.

A groan draws her attention to the other two people in the tunnel. Weapon X is kneeling in the muck holding out his left arm, but there is no hand attached to his forearm; only a blackened stump remains. She senses him returning into a berserker rage, but rather than try to stop it, she welcomes it.

She reaches behind her, and removes the twin katanas that Scott had somehow managed to get for her as a birthday gift, and charges at Weapon X with a howl of fury.

Weapon X manages to raise his right arm above his head in an attempt to block the blow of the two swords slicing down towards him. Betsy thinks it's a futile gesture, until the blades are stopped from cutting through his arm.

Weapon X unsheathes the claws from his right hand, and she sees the metal coating them. 'Is his whole skeleton coated with that metal?' She thinks to herself, as she pulls her swords out of his flesh, and kicks him in the chest.

Weapon X barely moves even though it was the strongest kick Betsy could manage. She flips out of the way, as he swings his arms towards her, intent on slicing her in half.

She charges at him again, hoping to prevent him from getting to his feet, but he is a lot quicker than she anticipated, and he rolls out of the way, before jumping to his feet.

She turns, and charges again, swinging her katanas in a flurry of motion, which Weapon X is unable to follow. He tries to block them with his arm again, and manages to block some of them, losing several chunks of flesh in the process; but many of the swings make it around his block, and slice into his shoulders, and torso.

Betsy swings her left arm in an overhead cut towards his head, and Weapon X reaches up with his right arm to block it; but it was only a distraction, to get him to open himself up, as she stabs forward towards his chest with her other katana. She pierces his chest, just to the left of his sternum, right through his heart.

Weapon X goes limp, and drops to his knees. Betsy stands over him, spreading her arms out wide, before swinging her arms towards him, intent of severing his head from his body.

Suddenly, she is thrown back by an invisible force and lands in the muck several feet away.

She picks herself up, and wipes the muck from her face. She looks over at Weapon X, and sees Jean kneeling down next to Weapon X, holding his head to her chest, with her arm outstretched. "Stay away from him!" She shouts.

Without a word, Betsy throws one of her katanas at Jean.

It never makes it, as it stops in mid-air, inches from Jean. "Don't even try!" She says, as she gestures with her hand, and the katana sails off to the side, and impales itself into the wall.

"A telekinetic." Betsy says. "Step away from him, so that I can end his miserable life."

"Never." Jean replies. "We're leaving, and you can't stop us."

"He killed Scott; he must die!" Betsy shouts, pointing at Weapon X with her remaining katana.

"He's not dead yet; he can be saved. But only if you get him some help quickly." Jean says. "You must decide if you are going to save him, or fight a battle that you cannot win."

Betsy lowers her katana. "Know this; if he doesn't survive, I will hunt you both to the ends of the earth, and I will make you suffer before ended your miserable lives." Betsy says, sheathing her katana, and retrieving the one in the wall, before running back to Scott.

She bends down, and uses all her might to lift him up into a standing position. With one final look over her shoulder at Jean, she drags Scott away.


	13. The Name

Part.13. (The Name)

Betsy rushes as fast as she can, and makes her way back to their place, where Healer is waiting anxiously. Baby Katherine is asleep, as Betsy drags Scott over to the couch, where Healer immediately gets to work on trying to save Scott's life.

Betsy sits down in a chair, and closes her eyes, letting her mind leave her own body, and enter Scott's, to try and help save him.

The pain, and anger that assail her is like none she has ever felt, and she almost pulls away, but she doesn't; for Scott's sake. She uses her powers to shunt away the pain, allowing Scott's mind to recuperate.

She has barely started helping him calm down, when she can sense Healer trying to call her. She returns to her body, and opens her eyes.

"Mistress Betsy." Healer says.

"Yes?" She asks. "Is Scott going to be alright?"

Healer looks down, with a sad face, and says, "He will survive, but I can not save his eye; the damage is too great."

"What? Why?" She asks, standing up, and looking down at Scott.

"It would appear that when the eye was cut, a full powered blast was released with enough force to blow out the eye and cauterize the wound; it even cauterized the cuts on his forehead and cheek. I can do nothing for it; he will always have the scars." Healer explains.

Betsy runs her hand down the left side of his face, resting it on his cheek. "Thank you, Healer; I know you did everything you could."

"I'm so sorry, Mistress Betsy." He replies.

"Don't be." She says, kneeling down beside the couch. "Can you please watch Katherine while I try and see if I can help Scott?"

Healer nods, and leaves the room.

Betsy closes her eyes, and enters Scott's mind again.

Now that he is cut off from the pain, she is able to enter his mind easily. His mind is unlike any she has ever entered before; complex, and guarded. He has incredible psychic defenses, but their bond allows her through most of them. There are parts of his mind that are impenetrable, and it was a bit of a snag in their relationship at the beginning, but she trusted him when he had told her that he needed to keep some things secret, even from her, in order to keep her safe.

She finds his consciousness in the one place that it always goes when he is hurt, his memories; more specifically, his childhood memories from before the plane crash. She always feels bad when she intrudes on him here, but she needs to bring him back, so that he can start to heal.

*Scott?* She calls out to him. *Scott, you need to come back with me, Luv.*

He seems to be ignoring her, as he relives a memory of the first time his father took him up in a plane alone. She watches as, a then five year old, Scott sits in his fathers lap, with a look of awe. She sees his father whisper something to Scott, and he takes the steering yoke in his tiny hands. Scott's father then covers his hands with his own, and guides him as he flies the plane. The look of utter joy on Scott's face brings a tear to Betsy's eye.

*That was the day that I decided that I wanted to be a pilot.* Scott says. *I wanted to follow in my dad's footsteps, and be free among the clouds.*

*Scott, we need to go back.* Betsy says. *You're hurt, and you need to come back so that you can heal.*

The memory disappears, and Betsy finds herself hovering in an empty white space with Scott. *I know.* He replies. *How bad is it? I can't feel any pain anymore.*

*I won't lie to you; it's pretty bad.* She says, reaching out and wrapping her arms around him. *I shunted the pain away, but the moment you wake up it will return.*

*Thank you for that.* Scott says, returning the embrace. *I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I'm sure that whatever it was, wasn't nearly enough.*

*I'm the one who doesn't deserve you, Scott; but I try to be a better person every day because of you.* She takes his hand, and says, *When you wake up, keep your eyes closed; you're visor was destroyed.*

*Okay.* Scott replies.

Betsy guides him back to consciousness, and opens her eyes just as Scott awakens.

"Mother fucker." He grunts out in pain, not wanting to swear loud enough for Katherine to hear. "I think I'm going to be sick."

Betsy barely manages to get out of the way, as Scott turns his head, and throws up on the floor. She runs to the med-lab, and returns with several strong pain-killers.

She forces Scott to take some, and watches as he lays back. He lifts his hand to his face, but Betsy stops him. "Don't." She says.

"How bad is it?" He asks, the pain-killers seeming to have already started working.

Betsy starts crying, and is unable to say it out loud. *The eye is gone. Healer said there is nothing that he can do.*

Scott lays there in silence for several moments, waiting for Betsy to stop crying. When she finally does, he reaches for her hand. She takes his hand in hers, and waits for him to talk. "Well…at least now my codename makes sense." He jokes.


	14. The End

Part.14. (The End)

Three years later, and a night like any other.

Scott hadn't returned from his prisoner escape on time, and Betsy was starting to get worried; Scott was never late. 'I knew I should have gone with him.' She thinks, as she paces their home. She tries not to project her concern for fear of upsetting young Katherine, but the sound of crying, and the calls for her parents prove that she's unable too.

Betsy walks into Katherine's bedroom, and sits down on the side of the bed. "I'm sorry, Baby; Mommy didn't mean to upset you." Betsy says.

Katherine sits up, and hugs Betsy. "Something happened to Daddy." She says. "He's hurt."

"Daddy's fine, Sweetie; Mommy was just worried, and you picked up on it." Betsy says, while rubbing Katherine's back.

"No, he's not; I saw it." Katherine replies with tears in her eyes. "Daddy got hurt. Uncle Alex was there too."

Betsy stops rubbing Katherine's back, and holds her so that she can look in her eyes. "Uncle Alex? You've never met him, Sweetie; what do you mean? What did you see?" She asks.

"Daddy was helping someone, and then he got scared. He started fighting, and then got hurt. Then I saw Uncle Alex before everything went black." Katherine replies.

Reaching out with her mind, Betsy searches Katherine's mind, until she finds what Katherine is talking about. She gasps, and nearly drops Katherine as she stands up. 'She actually saw it; she saw Scott get attacked.' She thinks to herself. 'I had no idea she had any powers yet, or that she had this connection to Scott.'

She places Katherine back down on the bed, and says, "Daddy will be fine, Sweetie; I promise." Then she walks over to the door. "Try and get some sleep; Mommy will be right back."

She closes the door behind her, and presses her back against it. 'Oh God, Scott; where are you? What happened, and what should I do?' She thinks, as she holds back tears.

* * *

><p>The pain that courses through his body is excruciating, and Scott has to try not to black out; he barely manages to not vomit.<p>

The pain ceases, and he looks down at his tormentor; Beast.

"This would go a lot easier if you would just talk, Scott." Beast says, his hand hovering over a knob that will send electricity coursing through Scott's body.

"You're pretty bad at interrogation, McCoy; you haven't even asked me any questions." Scott spits out. 'Keep him talking, Scott; anything to delay the pain.' He thinks to himself.

"Oh, forgive me; I am new at this. Usually I just perform my experiments; questioning was never really relevant before." Beast replies. His hand grasps the knob. "But then again, I'm not really concerned with answers." He grins evilly as he turns the knob, sending electricity coursing through Scott's body.

"McCoy!" Alex shouts from the doorway. "Stop that right now!"

Reluctantly, Beast turns off the current, and steps back from the machine. "Oh you're just about as much fun as your brother." Beast says.

"I need him alive, McCoy. He needs to tell me where that traitor Sinister is; so that I can present the two of them to Apocalypse myself." Alex says, walking up to stand before Scott.

*Scott! Scott!* Betsy's voice shouts into his head through their bond.

*Betsy. I'm sorry; I got sloppy. You need to take Katherine and get out of there; they'll be coming for you soon.* He thinks back to her, ignoring the conversation Alex and Beast are having. *Go see Angel, and get out of the country.*

*Not without you.* She replies.

*Don't even think about it, Betsy; I'm done for. Take Katherine and go; you're all that matter now.*

*But Scott…*

*No! You have to get to safety; I don't want to die thinking that I got you two killed.*

*You can't die, Scott.* She says, and he can hear the tears in her voice. *We need you; I need you.*

*I don't plan on dying just yet, Betsy; I'm going to make them earn it. But when it happens, I can die knowing that the two people I love more than life itself, are safe.*

*I love you too, Scott.* She replies, and he can feel her mind caress his.

*Tell Katherine that I love her, and I'll always be watching over her.*

*She knows, Scott; she knows.*

Scott breaks the connection, and looks down just as Alex and Beast finish their conversation. The look of joy on Beast's face sends a chill up his spine. He is about to say something, when he feels a familiar presence.

*Daddy?* He hears Katherine say.

*Kitty Cat? Is that you?* He asks.

*Yes it is, Daddy.* His daughter replies. *I love you, Daddy.*

Scott has to fight not to start crying. *I love you too, Kitty Cat. Daddy will always be with you.*

*I know.* She replies, and her presence pulls away.

A sudden explosion rocks Scott.

As the dust settles, he finds himself free of his restraints. He looks around, and sees both Alex and Beast, unconscious under a pile of rubble; he also sees Jean Grey standing beside him.

* * *

><p>Betsy grabs the two satchels that Scott had prepared for just such and occasion, and throws them into the back seat of one of Scott's cars. She then returns and gathers Katherine in her arms. "We need to go, Sweetie." Betsy says to her, as she carries her out to the car. "You need to be strong, and brave; just like Daddy. Can you do that, Sweetie?"<p>

"Yes Mommy." Katherine replies.

"Okay. Stay put; mommy will be right back." Betsy says, as she runs back into their home. She picks up the communicator that allows her to get in touch with Healer, and heads back to the car.

She jumps into the driver's seat, and presses a button on the dashboard. The floor at the back of the garage starts to slope downwards, and reveals an underground tunnel. Kicking the car into gear, she heads down into the tunnel, closing it behind them.

She stops several hundred feet down the tunnel, and looks back the way she came; her hand hovering over another button. 'Do it, Betsy. You can't let anyone find any trace of your life with Scott; especially not about Katherine. They'll hunt her for the rest of her life, if they find out about her.' She thinks to herself.

Taking a deep breath, she presses the button. The explosion rocks the tunnel, and she can see a large portion of it collapse in a cloud of debris and fire.

She turns back, and continues driving down the tunnel, tears falling from her eyes. 'Our home, everything we had; all gone now.' She thinks. 'Apocalypse will pay for everything he's done; I swear it.'

* * *

><p>With the help of Jean Grey, Scott manages to escape. The two of them trying to get to the coast where they hope to find members of the resistance, and possible safe passage to Europe.<p>

Jean told him about the Human High Councils plans to attack Apocalypse tonight. "That's insane." Scott says. "They'll never defeat him like that."

"What else were they supposed to do?" Jean asks.

"I don't know; but a full scale nuclear attack is not the answer. Apocalypse will sacrifice every one of his minions if he has too." Scott replies.

"What would you do, then?" She asks.

Scott is silent for a few moments before replying, "Whittle away his supporters, and then send in a precision strike team to eliminate him."

"What?" Jean gasps. "Do you know how many people would die by then?"

"Tens-of-thousands." Scott replies coldly. "But nowhere near the millions that will die with this plan."

They continue on is silence for a while before Jean asks, "Is there no way to get to Apocalypse?"

"Not unless he wants you to get to him. Only a few people have access to Apocalypse, and even fewer actually know his whereabouts at any give time."

"We should hurry, and liberate the pens then." Jean says. "We don't have much time, and we have to try and save as many people as we can."

Once again, they continue on in silence.

'I hope Betsy gets out in time.' He thinks.

* * *

><p>Betsy stops the car at an intersection in the tunnel, and looks around. Suddenly, out of the shadows, steps Healer. 'Thank God.' She thinks to herself.<p>

Healer removes the two bags from the back seat, while Betsy gets Katherine. "Thank you for meeting me here. We have to go; Scott was captured." She says.

"Then let us not waste any time." He replies. "We must head for Apocalypse's Citadel."

Betsy stops in her tracks. "What? Apocalypse's Citadel?" She asks. "No, we need to head to the coast, and meet up with the resistance."

"It is too late for that." Healer replies. "We will never make it in time. But if we can get to the Citadel, there may be a way to save Katherine."

"What do you mean?"

"An old friend of mine sent me a message. She said that a nuclear attack is coming and that there is no escape; but that she would be waiting for me at the Citadel, where she would try and save Katherine." Healer explains.

"I don't understand." Betsy says. "Who is this friend, and how does she know about Katherine?"

"Her name is Irene, and she can see the future. She will be at the Citadel, with the X-Men, trying to change the past. She told me that she might be able to save Katherine; but we need to hurry."

"What about everyone else?" Betsy asks. "What about Scott?"

"It is too late for us." Healer replies. "But Katherine can be saved."

Betsy decides to trust him, and follows him through the tunnels that make up a labyrinth beneath the city.

* * *

><p>*Scott?* He hears Betsy calling him.<p>

*I'm here, Betsy. Are you and Katherine safe?* He asks.

*Yes. We're with Healer; we're headed to Apocalypse's Citadel.* She replies.

Scott stops suddenly, causing Jean to look back at him.

*What did you say?* He asks.

*Healer says that we have to go to Apocalypse's Citadel in order to save Katherine.* Betsy replies. *He said that a nuclear attack is coming, and that none of us can escape it; but that there is a way to save Katherine, and we must go to the Citadel for that.*

Scott has continued to walk, but Jean can tell that he is distracted. She reaches out with her untrained telepathy, and is suddenly pulled into their conversation.

*Absolutely not!* Scott says. *Turn around, and head to the coast. I'm on my way there now, with one of the X-Men, and all the prisoners from the pens. They have a plan to evacuate everyone before the attack.*

*Healer says that won't happen; that the attack has already been launched, and can't be stopped in time to save everyone.*

Scott is about to say something, but Katherine somehow joins the conversation. *I trust him, Daddy. Healer is my friend.* She says.

*Katherine, I know you like Healer, but this isn't right.* Scott says to her.

*Oh God; he's right.* Jean adds into the conversation.

The shock of her speaking into their connection is enough to make Scott drop the connection. "How did you do that?" He asks.

"Forget about that; whoever this Healer guy is, is right." She replies. "I can sense the warheads approaching. We'll never get everyone away before they strike."

"How much time do we have?" Scott asks.

Instead of replying, she turns to him with tears in her eyes.

He gets the message. "Not enough." He whispers.

* * *

><p>*Betsy?* She hears Scott re-establish the connection.<p>

*Scott? You sound worried.* She says.

*Get to the Citadel as fast as you can; save Katherine and yourself. I love you.* He replies.

Before she can reply, Healer says, "We are here."

Betsy looks up to see a dead end. "There is nothing here." She says.

"Wait for it." Healer says.

Suddenly there is a loud noise, a cloud of smoke, and a blue elf-like man appears. "Guten Tag meine Freunde" He says. "Destiny told me that you would be here. My name is Nightcrawler, and I am here to help."

"These two." Healer says, pointing at Betsy and Katherine. "Take them to Irene." He then leans in and whispers something to Nightcrawler.

"I see." Nightcrawler replies. He turns to face Betsy, and reaches out his hand. "Please, take my hand."

"What about Healer?" She asks.

"I'm an old man, and my time is up." He replies. "I have been honored to serve you and Scott all these years." Then he kneels down and looks at Katherine, placing one of the bags on her back. "Remember what I told you, little one, and you will be fine."

Not allowing Betsy to say anything else, Nightcrawler grabs her hand and teleports her and Katherine away.

Healer stands there holding the other bag, and says, "If there is a God, please watch after that child, and guide her to those who will love her."

Another puff of smoke later, and the three of them appear just inside the M'Kraan crystal, where an old woman and a young girl are waiting.

"Here they are, Destiny." Nightcrawler says.

"Thank you, Kurt." Destiny says, before turning her attention to Betsy and Katherine. "We don't have much time, Elizabeth; if you wish to save your child, you must say good-bye to her forever."

"What?" Betsy asks. "You can't be serious?"

"I'm afraid that I am." Destiny replies. "This world does not have much time left, and only those that don't have counterparts in the other reality can pass through, unharmed."

"What are you talking about?" Betsy asks.

"We shall all die in a short time, but your daughter can be given a chance to live in another reality; a reality where Apocalypse does not reign." Destiny explains. "But you cannot make the journey with her, because you already exist in that reality."

"What will happen to her?" Betsy asks.

"I cannot say; that reality is hidden from me. I only know it exists." Destiny replies. "Please, we must do this quickly."

Betsy reaches out with her mind, and quickly informs Scott about what is happening. *Can't you go with her?* He asks.

*She says I can't; that I already exist there.* Betsy replies. *Katherine has to go through alone.*

Scott is silent for several moments before saying, *Then I guess we have no choice. The warheads are already here. Jean Grey is using her powers to hold them back, to try to give some of the prisoners a chance to get far enough away, but she can't hold them back forever.*

*Are you sure about this, Scott? Are we really going to trust this woman, and send our daughter away?* Betsy asks.

*I trust her.* Katherine says. *She seems nice.*

*Then you do whatever she tells you to do, Kitty Cat.* Scott says. *And always remember that Mommy and Daddy love you so much.*

*Yes we do.* Betsy says, kneeling down and hugging her. "Be safe, my little Angel." She gives her a kiss on the cheek, and stands back up.

"You are making the right decision." Destiny says. "For your daughter's sake." Then she reaches out her hand and says, "Take my hand child, and Illyana will do the rest."

Katherine takes Destiny's hand, and looks back at Betsy. "I love you too, Mommy." She says, before a section of crystal drops down, cutting them off from one another.

Betsy can feel the moment Katherine disappears, and breaks down into tears. Nightcrawler reaches out and places a hand on her shoulder. "She is safe now." He says. "Now we must join the battle."

"No." She says through tears. "Scott needs me; take me to him."

"But I have no idea where this Scott it." Nightcrawler says.

Betsy reaches up and places her hand on his face, and says, "You do now."

They both disappear in another puff of smoke.

* * *

><p>Weapon X stands over the body of Alex Summers, blood still dripping off the claws from his left arm. A moment later, he regains enough control to rush to Jean Grey's side. "Jeannie?" He asks, lifting her into his lap. "Please be alright, Baby."<p>

He is so distracted, that he doesn't even notice Nightcrawler and Betsy appear several feet away.

"Scott!" She shouts, and rushes to his side. "No, no, no, no, no!" She kneels down beside his body and flips him onto his back.

He grunts in pain. "Oh thank God, you're still alive." She says, leaning down and kissing him.

"Barely." He manages to croak out. "Jean sensed Alex's attack at the last second, and deflected enough of the blow to save me."

Betsy looks over, and sees Weapon X still holding Jean. Then she looks around and sees Alex's body several feet away. She also notices that Nightcrawler has disappeared; gone off to help the X-Men battle Apocalypse.

"Is Katherine..?" Scott asks.

Betsy turns her attention back to Scott. "Yes, Luv; she's gone. If that Destiny woman is to be believed, she's safe and sound, somewhere far from here; where Apocalypse doesn't pose any threat to her."

"Good." Scott barely whispers. "I only wish you could have gone too; instead of getting stuck here."

"I could never abandon you, my love. I promised to stay with you for the rest of our lives." She replies. "It's only fitting that we be together when it comes to an end."

Scott turns his head to look at Weapon X, and Jean. "She was the only thing holding back the warheads; it won't be long now." He says.

Silence envelopes them, as they wait for the end.

Weapon X is now looking to the sky, waiting for the nukes to finally do what so many others have failed to do; end his life. He doesn't notice the shadow moving towards Jean.

Scott manages to sit up, and take Betsy in his arms. He looks into her eyes, and kisses her one last time. *I love you, Elizabeth Braddock-Summers.* He says.

*And I love you, Scott Summers.* She replies.

I blinding flash of light can be seen for miles as the warheads explode.


	15. The Epilogue

Part.15. (The Epilogue)

In another time and place, a little three year old girl appears in a park; no one notices her sudden appearance. She looks around at the strange new world before her. She's only ever known her home, and the tunnels beneath it.

Remembering what she had been told, she removes the bag from her back, and searches for the piece of paper that should be there. Finding it, she stuffs it in her pocket, and puts the bag back on.

A passing policeman finally takes notice of her, and says, "Hello there, Sweetie. Are you lost? Where are your parents?"

Reaching into her pocket she removes the piece of paper and holds it out for him. He takes it and reads it, his eyes going wide. "North Salem, in Westchester County? You're a long way from home, Sweetie." He says. "Where are your parents?"

"There." She replies, tapping the paper. "They're there, waiting for me."

"How did you get all the way to Central Park, Sweetie? Did someone take you away from your home?" He asks.

"What's going on here, Pete? Who's the kid?" A female detective asks, walking up to the pair. She looks down at the kid, and realizes that she looks very familiar.

"I don't know, Detective. I just saw her standing here all alone, and came to see if she needed help." He replies. He hands her the paper. "She says that she's from there."

The detectives eyes go wide, and she says, "I'll take it from here, Pete; thanks."

"But detective…" The policeman starts to say, but is cut off by the detective.

"I know people at this address…it's a school." She says. "I'll take her there myself; I'm sure they must be worried sick about her."

"Are you sure?" The policeman asks. "I mean that's an awfully long drive."

"I'm sure." She replies. Without another word, and policeman walks away.

The detective bends down and says, "Come with me, and I'll take you home."

"Okay." The girl says.

The detective stands up, and holds out her hand; which the girl takes. Then she leads her through the park, and to her car.

Once she buckles the girl into the back seat, and gets behind the wheel, she says, "My name is Detective Charlotte Jones. What's yours?"

"Katherine." The girl replies. "Katherine Braddock-Summers."

**THE END?**


End file.
